Lawmakers’ Mixed Reactions on NSA Surveillance of Phone Records

While the Obama administration called government review of complete phone records of U.S. customers a “critical tool” in protecting the public from terrorists, reaction was mixed on Capitol Hill to a report showing a secret U.S. intelligence court had approved a three-month collection of phone-call data from Verizon.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) told reporters at a Capitol Hill news conference Thursday that the NSA program helped avert a “significant domestic terrorist attack” in the United States “within the last few years.” He did not provide further information about the threatened attack, but said the committee was trying to classify information about it.

“We should just calm down and understand this is not something that is brand new,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.), who said that the program has been in place for seven years and has “worked to prevent” terrorist attacks.

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein

Senate Intelligence Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) said the program was lawful and that it is renewed every three months. She said this revelation seems to coincide with its latest renewal.

House Speaker John Boehner (R., Ohio) said he believed that Mr. Obama should reassure Americans with a public explanation and defense of the program.

“There are public policy and civil liberties concerns among Americans today. I trust the president will explain (to the American people) why the administration considers this a critical tool,” Mr. Boehner said. “I’m fully confident both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees have provided oversight on this subject. It is important for the president to outline why these tools are critical.”

Asked if he knew about this program, Mr. Boehner said, “I don’t discuss classified data….we’re still waiting for the rest of the details.”

Other members of Congress were more alarmed. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R.,Wis.), an author of the Patriot Act, sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder protesting the broad collection of phone records and arguing that it violates the law.

“As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation,” Mr. Sensenbrenner said in a statement. “While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses. The Bureau’s broad application for phone records was made under the so-called business records provision of the Act. I do not believe the broadly drafted FISA order is consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act. Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American.”

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D., Ill.), who has offered amendments to curb this NSA power, said this report was not a surprise to him but is an “invitation for us to revisit” the the Patriot Act. He said the law has surveillance limits, but “the question is whether it is adequate. This gives us a chance and opportunity to do just that.”

“After revelations that the Internal Revenue Service targeted political dissidents and the Department of Justice seized reporters’ phone records, it would appear that this Administration has now sunk to a new low,” he said.

Here is more reaction:

Sen Dean Heller (R., Nev.): “This is yet another example of government overreach that forces the question, ‘What sort of state are we living in?’ There is clearly a glaring difference between what the government is doing and what the American people think they are doing … keeping American citizens safe is one of government’s most important responsibilities, but there is a fine line between protecting our nation and protecting our Fourth Amendment rights. Our government continues to come close to that line and in some areas may have even crossed it.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.): “The United States should not be accumulating phone records on tens of millions of innocent Americans … While we must aggressively pursue international terrorists and all of those who would do us harm, we must do it in a way that protects the Constitution and the civil liberties which make us proud to be Americans.”

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter ( D., N.Y.): ”I am outraged by reports that the NSA is collecting the telephone records of millions of U.S. Verizon customers under a secret court order. I have consistently opposed reauthorizations of the USA Patriot Act and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) precisely because they grant overly-broad powers that could infringe on our civil liberties. We do not need to choose between security and civil liberties.”

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